Oakland County tops deer crash list

By
Ryan Felton, The Oakland Press

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Auto accidents involving deer fell in Southeast Michigan in 2012, but Oakland County’s total ranked first of all counties across the state, a regional planning agency said Wednesday.The county’s number of deer crashes fell to 1,683 in 2012 — roughly five percent of Oakland’s crashes, and 32 percent of all deer crashes in the area — from the previous year’s total of 1,736, according to a report released Tuesday by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.But, of the seven counties that constitute southeast Michigan, Oakland ranked first again, with 650 more incidents than second ranked Washtenaw county, according to the planning agency’s data.Oakland also reported the most deer crashes across the state, replacing Kent County atop the list. Sue Stetler, director of communications at the agency, was unsure if Oakland previously held the spot, but said Kent had maintained the position for the “last several years.”Craig Bryson, public information officer at the Road Commission for Oakland county, said there’s “unfortunately really not a whole lot we can do” to alleviate the number of incidents.The commission will follow up with complaints by checking police reports to determine if an area has a high number of deer crashes, Bryson said, and “in places where they’re frequently occurring we do put up signs warning motorists of deer.”For the list of individual communities, Oakland represented the top four spots with Rochester Hills (155), Oxford Township (110), Oakland Township (107) and Orion Township (107).It’s not all bad news, though: Across Southeast Michigan, the total number of deer crashes dropped 10.3 percent in 2012, with Livingston and Washtenaw counties seeing the biggest drops.The report is part of the agency’s effort to decrease the state’s crash total with Michigan’s estimated 1.8 million deer herd.The agency said such crashes cost the state more than $130 million a year, with average insurance claims being an estimated $2,100.FYI
2012 deer crash totals by county
Oakland County — 1,683
Washtenaw County — 925
St. Clair County — 702
Livingston County — 669
Macomb County — 479
Wayne County — 412
Monroe County — 336
Contact staff writer Ryan Felton at 248-745-4654 or ryan.felton@oakpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanfelton13.